The present disclosure relates generally to particulate discharge and, more particularly, to methods, systems, and apparatus that can be used to monitor particulate discharge for both manual and continuous applications.
A variety of suspended particles may be found in a typical atmosphere whether indoor or outdoor. Size, chemical composition, concentration, and temporal variability all have the potential to affect public health and perception of pollution. As a result, particulate monitoring systems, devices, or instruments are becoming more prevalent in both process and environmental applications. Conventional sampling probes used in particulate monitoring systems, devices, or instruments are configured so as to extend upwards away from the ground. FIG. 1 is a diagram that illustrates a conventional sampling probe used to divert a sample of a gas stream containing particulate matter (PM) for evaluating the concentration of the particulate matter in the gas stream. As shown in FIG. 1, a stack or duct 105 has a gas that flows therethrough and contains PM 110. A probe 115 is configured to extend into the gas stream and divert a sample of the gas stream to a particulate matter analysis component 125 to evaluate the concentration of the PM in the stream. As shown in FIG. 1, an angle α formed by a ray corresponding to the direction of the gas flow through the probe 115 and a ray corresponding to the direction of the earth's gravitational force is greater than 90 degrees. As a result, in continuous particulate monitoring systems, for example, PM that is deposited in the probe 115 may not be detected by the particulate matter analysis component 125, which may bias the results of the PM concentration determination. Conventional particulate monitoring systems, devices, or instruments may use cyclonic heating to remove moisture from PM before evaluating the concentration of, the particulate matter with a detector. Processing the sampled gas flow with a cyclonic heater may result in further loss of PM as it is common for a portion of the PM to become trapped in the cyclonic) heater. While configuring the probe 115 as shown in FIG. 1 to take advantage of the effects of gravity pulling water droplets back towards the main gas flow in the stack or duct 105 may allow the probe 115 to self-clean, particulate matter from a sample may nonetheless be lost affecting the accuracy of a PM concentration determination.